The Cornflower Witch Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Secret History Assessment

Autumn grew deeper, withered leaves drifted down the mountains, and the distant mountain scenery turned half green, half yellow.

Iona walked through the withered forest, her steps crunching loudly on the fallen leaves.

She arrived at the foot of a large banyan tree outside Burntstone City; this giant tree stood out conspicuously in this mountainous area.

After a wait, another person walked into the forest, wearing a black cloak and a cloth mask over their face.

Upon seeing Iona, this figure stopped, removed the mask, revealing a somewhat aged face.

“Mistress Iona.” He bowed, one hand pressed to his shoulder.

“Hm.” The blonde girl turned around, nodded slightly, her expression unreadable.

“This is what you requested in your previous letter.” The man placed the long wooden box he was carrying onto the dry grass and leaves.

Unlocking it, he opened the box, revealing two custom-made black steel longswords, a small bag of black stones, a velvet jewelry box, a row of blood-red potions, a yellowed book, and a small silk sachet sealed with fragrant leaves and flowers.

“Everything is prepared,” he said. After speaking, his sunken eyes lingered on the girl for a long time.

“What is it?” Iona asked, looking up after checking the items.

“Miss, you should know that there isn’t much left of what Lord Kalen left behind.”

Hearing this, Iona was silent for a moment, then nodded.

“This is the last time I will deliver anything to you. Please understand.”

“I served two generations of Viscount Kalen and once thought I would stay in the viscount’s manor forever, but alas…” He slowly shook his head.

“Please forgive me for not being able to see you again from now on. I wish you success in entering the Hidden Forest, where there is extraordinary knowledge and power that ordinary nobles cannot access.”

“If you can undergo a transformation and stand out there, restoring the Kalen Viscount’s manor will not be difficult. However, by that time, I probably won’t be around to see it.”

“I have two grandsons, one in the watchtower fortress legion, and one studying in Grayleaf City. If you need them then, they will be loyal assistants to you.”

After saying this, the old man thought for a moment, but in the end, he didn’t say anything more, just looked at the blonde girl with old, tired eyes.

“I understand.” Iona closed the box and picked it up.

She turned and headed towards the foot of the mountain, gradually moving away, but half-way she stopped and said,

“Thank you, Butler Ethan.” Then her figure disappeared around a bend in the forest.

…

In Scholar Hyde’s mansion, amidst the courtyard lawn.

Scholar Hyde, with his long white beard, was, as usual, gently tapping the blackboard with a wooden stick, on which today’s knowledge was written.

“It is now November. Normally, the weather would already be cold, but because we are in the Aurora Wind Season, autumn and summer will last longer. So, we will enter a short winter in December and then end winter and enter spring in January of next year.”

“Such differences will also bring about changes in agricultural and commercial activities. In the Aurora Wind Season, food is often abundant and cheap, while the Mist Season is the complete opposite.”

…

“That concludes today’s lecture. Also, I would like to remind you that an assessment of Secret History knowledge will be held next week.” The old man raised a finger.

“I will provide some prizes for the top three in the assessment. Of course, they won’t be as lavish as Viscount Xuefeng’s, but they will be of considerable help to you. Look forward to it.”

“Yes, teacher,” everyone replied with some anticipation, then dispersed.

They left Scholar Hyde’s backyard in groups of two and three, discussing the upcoming assessment.

“It seems this time it’s not a combat assessment, but purely a knowledge test.”

“Sigh, then I won’t have any use for my skills.”

“There’s nothing we can do. It’s not every time that Lord Xuefeng comes. The teacher is a scholar, so naturally, he cares more about academic achievements in knowledge.”

“A Secret History assessment, does that mean Iona and Lia will take first place?”

“Probably. They are both equally good; maybe Lia is even stronger. I’ve seen her tutoring a few struggling students recently.”

“Can wild boys like Mick, and that big dumb guy Lei, really learn?” someone wondered skeptically.

“Who knows? But I see Lia teaching very diligently. A couple of times when I passed by, I wanted to listen in.”

“Sigh, your Secret History grades aren’t bad, why do you still need tutoring?”

“It’s hard to explain to you, I can only say that beyond one mountain, there’s always a higher one.” The other person shrugged helplessly.

“But Miss Iona has been seen less frequently lately. She often misses training, and sometimes even Scholar Hyde’s classes. I wonder what she’s been doing.”

As they talked, their figures moved away. They would meet again at the training ground in the afternoon.

…

“The assessment is coming soon, are you all ready?” Hylial sat on a wooden chair, looking at the few students she was tutoring.

“Heh, I’ve got no problem, of course.” Mick feigned nonchalance, rubbing his head.

“I’ll do my best.” Karen nodded.

“And Lei?” The girl tilted her head, looking at the large man who was a head taller than her.

“I, I will do well in the exam,” Lei answered with a timid hum.

He was the most robust of the group, yet he was the most bashful in Hylial’s small class.

Hylial couldn’t help but sigh and shake her head at this Big Dumb Guy.

Although all three of them had weak foundations, Mick and Karen weren’t stupid; they just lacked good education before. Only ‘Lei’ made Hylial feel a bit disheartened; he was truly difficult to teach.

There was nothing she could do. Even she couldn’t change a person’s talent and intelligence. She could only try her best to help him keep up and not fall too far behind.

Furthermore, Hylial had also summarized some experience for struggling students like Lei.

Unlike normal students and gifted students, deeply foolish individuals cannot be taught using conventional knowledge frameworks. They cannot grasp such complex and vast information. Therefore, the knowledge framework must be further simplified, reducing the difficulty of learning.

Such simplification naturally loses some of its original efficacy and makes further improvement difficult, serving as a foundation for some profound courses. However, compared to a fractured knowledge framework that they couldn’t understand to begin with, this simplified approach is easier for foolish students to accept and utilize to solve common problems.

Having a rudimentary knowledge framework is better than having nothing at all; this is also a reluctant compromise.

“Alright, I believe you all want to prove yourselves and won’t take this assessment lightly.” Hylial stood up.

“Let’s review today. Also… can you show me the results of your recent combat training?” Her words surprised them somewhat.

“Lia wants to see our fighting training?” Lei rubbed his fists, eager to show off.

“Of course,” Karen thought this was quite simple, not even needing to be said.

“Lia, do you understand what you’re seeing?” Mick felt that this girl was far ahead in academics, and he often felt less intelligent than her.

But in combat, swordsmanship, could she really understand it? She probably had never even held a sword.

“Is that what you think?”

The black-haired girl picked up a teacup, took a small sip, and her calm expression immediately made Mick feel a bit unconfident.

During this time with the black-haired, blue-eyed girl, he realized more and more what an intelligent mind and insight lay beneath her seemingly ordinary appearance.

He rarely admired people. One was Jero, the adventurer elder, and the other was this girl, who seemed to be his peer but whose knowledge and thinking far surpassed his own.

“Perhaps, but since Lia requested it, I’ll just show you during my sparring.” He turned his head away, not looking at the face and eyes that gradually made his heart waver.

(End of this chapter)